Record on Indigenous kids in jail overshadows Australia's UN Security Council bid

Australia is seeking international backing for a seat at the United Nation’s highest table, but the federal government has recently been the subject of an urgent UN plea to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous children behind bars.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese launched the campaign for a two-year stint on the UN Security Council overnight in New York with a promotional video that begins with the Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy speaking in her traditional Yanyuwa language.

She goes on to appeal for support for Australia’s bid saying "we are home to the oldest continuous culture on the planet".

But the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued an "early warning and urgent action procedure” earlier this year, expressing grave concerns about racial discrimination against Indigenous children through education, healthcare and housing conditions — a "key factor contributing to their heightened vulnerability to arrest, incarceration and re-offending.”

The committee went on to criticise the states and territories where the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age and where children face adult penalties for their crimes, including life in prison.

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The United Nations committee also raised a red flag about the “limited progress” on the Closing the Gap measures which are at the heart of the federal government’s Indigenous Affairs policy.

It followed an investigation by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention into Indigenous youth incarceration in Australia.

Last year the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found across the country Indigenous young people between 10 and 17 years old made up 60 per cent of the youth detention population, that’s despite making up only 6.6 per cent of the general population.

Indigenous young people were 21 times more likely than non-Indigenous youth to be in detention, and the numbers were increasing.

When pressed by SBS News in New York to explain what he would do to address concerns that the federal government is not showing enough leadership, the Prime Minister said he would discuss the issues with Indigenous leaders when he returns to Australia.

"My government continues to work on Closing the Gap in a range of areas in Australia."

The prime minister also responded to questions about an investigation by The Australian newspaper into the Indigenous child protection system in Western Australia, despite yesterday dodging similar questions by saying he would not address domestic issues while abroad.

"We're not about to intervene against the Western Australian government," he said.